The funeral service of 78-year-old Joyce "Mother Joyce" Edwards and her five-year-old neighbour Akeil Motar will take place on Wednesday at the Transport and Industrial Workers Union (TIWU) Hall in Laventille.

The location was acquired by Motar's mother Akiba King last week as relatives of the deceased said they were expecting a large number of mourners at the service, more than a church could hold.

Both Edwards and Motar died last week Tuesday after Edwards's Prizgar Lands, Laventille, home caught fire. The two, along with Edwards's two pet dogs perished in the blaze when they became trapped in the building.

Motar, who was also the woman's godson, was spending the day at her house as classes at his school were supposed to end early that day.

Fire officers said following investigations, they believed that the fire got started at a prayer room within the house.

Speaking to the Express during a telephone interview yesterday, Edwards's grandson, Adrian Huggins said both his grandmother and little Akeil would be buried side-by-side at the Tunapuna Public Cemetery.

He said the service was delayed as several of Edwards' other relatives had to arrive from abroad. They were all expected to arrive by yesterday evening, he said.

Huggins said officials from the Ministry of the People and Social Development had agreed to pay for the funeral expenses and that the families were pleased with ministry for sticking to its promise.

"They have contacted us and we are very pleased with how they handled everything. They handled everything very nice and in a very swift manner," said Huggins.